


Touched

by PanPacificPines



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 13:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6909775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanPacificPines/pseuds/PanPacificPines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well, here’s a completely unexpected oneshot out of nowhere. I remembered a thing a while back about some headcanons people had about what happened to you after a demonic posession and it leaving a permanent mark on you. So Dipper, Ford and Stan’s eyes would still glow in the dark. That got me to thinking. And well, here ya go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Touched

In the summer of 2014 Stan and Ford extend an invitation to their grand niece and nephew to spend their vacation together back in the shack. Soos, Melody, and Wendy are all overjoyed to see the kids again. Though maybe young adults would fit them a little better. They’d both shot up to be almost Wendy’s height in just two short years. Though Wendy herself had still outpaced them. Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica spent practically all of their free time with the twins, and were even invited over for the Pines family meeting that the eldest members had called together.

Stanford Pines, the unofficial patriarch of the clan led the proceedings.

“Alright kids! Quiet down now. This is a very important meeting.”

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve called you together.” Mabel interrupted.

“There’s been…A murder!” Dipper continues.

“A murder most fowl!” Mabel squeezed her home made Ducktective plushie, which quacked loudly, garnering laughter from the crowd. Her great uncle Stan slapped his knee and nearly fell off of his chair. Immediately after almost falling off, he followed it up with actually falling off, of course.

“Yes, yes, it’s very humorous and all that.” Ford adjusted his glasses, and suppressed a smile. “But it really is quite important, so if you’ll all listen up.” He waited for the chattering to quiet down from around the room.  “Quite frankly, I feel like we’ve been negligent, Stanley and myself. For we haven’t educated the lot of you in how to defend yourselves.”

“Yo.” Wendy called out, twirling a hatchet in one hand before stuffing it neatly back in its sheath in a single motion. There may have been a shudder from Dipper’s direction.

“Well, yes, but-“ Stanford was interrupted once again by every single other occupant in the room readying whatever weaponry they had hidden about themselves, or in Grenda’s case, she hefted Candy above her head, as if to use her as a bludgeon.

“Yes, Yes, alright! I understand that we’ve all been through our fair share of scraps in the past, but that’s not what I was referring to.” He raised an eyebrow at his grand-niece, who had apparently taken to brass knuckles in the past two years. He filed that fact away to talk to Stanley about later.

“What Fordsy’s talkin’ about is magic. So if ya’s want to learn how to make shi- stuff glow or blow up or whatever, pay attention. It’s pretty boring for the first couple hours, but it gets good when he does the stuff with the-“

“Thank you, Stanley!” Then in a whisper, “I don’t want to ruin the surprise finish. I’d like to employ some of that showmanship you’re so fond of. Ahem! Anyway, he’s right. The lay person would be inclined to call what I’m going to be teaching you magic.” When he issued the finger quotes he used three fingers per hand rather than two. “But suffice it to say, it’s very real, potentially dangerous, and could definitely save your lives should you need to employ any of the occult arts in the future. Bill is gone, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other beings nearly as dangerous as he out and about in the world.”

“Alright, we’re losin’ ‘em! Whatcha!” Stan whipped a fireball out of nowhere and half way across the room before it fizzled out. The gathered crowd applauded and cheered, even as the heat kissed their faces.

“Yes, yes, thank you, Stanley. However, you must all keep in mind, there are limitations to such thi-“ Again, Ford was interrupted by a chorus of “Teach us! Teach us!” from the assembled crowd.

“Well, be that as it may.” He quieted the room down with a six fingered hushing motion. “My brother  **_is_ ** abnormally skilled with the more pyrotechnic aspects of the art, I’ll grant him that. But generally speaking, mastering these abilities takes quite a lot of time, practice, and study. So if you’ll all commit to the process, we can begin.”

 

When the room was silent for more than a second or two, another “Whatcha!” was shouted, followed by another round of applause.

“Yes, there’s that showmanship.” Ford pinched out the stray strand of burning hair and turned towards a large, round, wooden table that had not previously adorned the Shack in years past. “We will begin with a ceremony designed to allow the participants to draw out their spiritual potential. Everyone in this room, I suspect, has been touched to a greater or lesser extent, by the various occult forces of this town. So likely it’ll be a simple matter to shape your energies into a form which one might use for outward expression, such as my brother’s-“ He caught Stan’s hand before a third fireball could be sent flying. “-rather flashy demonstration. Now, if you will, I’d like to draw your attentions to the table.”

“Yeah, I’d been wondering about that.” Soos commented.

“Is it a magic table!?” Grenda bellowed.

“Actually, we bought it at a yard sale. I suspect that there’s very little magic about the table, actually. However, it’s wood-“

“I think it’s that composite stuff.”

“Yes, thank you, Stanley. Ahem. It’s wooden, it’s round, and it’ll allow the group of us to gather around and, well, really it’s mostly that it’s wooden and round. It’s just more convenient that way. Now, I’ll start the process by which you will all become more accustomed to the energies within yourselves.”

Ford withdrew a silver hand mirror from a coat pocket and placed it at the center of the table. He then topped it with a candle, with an odd coloration. In most places of the world and to most people, it would have appeared to be a simple beeswax candle. Though in that room, at that time, and to those who have experienced the strangeness of Gravity Falls, it glowed faintly of a color no one could quite place. The more they tried, squinting and straining, the more it seemed to shift and change under the weight of their gazes.

“Now! Dipper, if you can get the lights. Yes, thank you.” Stanford flipped the hood of his coat up and chanted under his breath as he extracted several more objects from various pockets. He drew a symbol around the edge of the table in a chalk that seemed to share some unknown quality with the candle. A few precious and semi-precious stones were placed at key points in the circle he’d drawn, as well as a copper cup, a feather, a knife, and a small leather pouch. Once the objects were all in place, the shadows of the room seemed to shift into odd shapes, and the glow of the candle and chalk seemed to hum with energy. Stanley removed a flask from his own jacket and passed it over to his brother before pulling up his own hood.

A strange, spicy smelling liquid flowed from the flask into the copper cup. Stanford swished it around, as if to appraise it for some quality the others wouldn’t have recognized. With a look back to his brother he tossed back a shot of it before coughing and holding out the cup for Stanley to take. His brother didn’t seem to have the same issues he had with downing his share before passing it along to Soos. Everyone in their turn upended the metal cup and choked down the concoction. Most of them experienced the same coughing fit as Stanford, save for Wendy, who asked for seconds, though it wasn’t permitted. The cup was placed back in its spot on the table and a bundle of herbs was then removed from it.

Stanley snapped his fingers together over the small torch and the end burned, filling the room with a pungent, if not entirely unpleasant smelling smoke. The bundle of herbs was waved around each person in turn before placing it back on the table. He made the rounds with several other objects from the table, leaving the bundle burning while he waved the ceremonial objects about. The knife was blunted, so it drew no blood when he swiped it across each person’s right palm. Though it did leave a lingering sensation that maybe they had been cut, even if there was no pain.

When it seemed that he was done parading around the various accoutrements of the trade, he poured one last shot into the copper cup. He crumbled in a handful of the chalk as well as some herbs. He stirred it a bit with the knife and poured the whole thing out onto the mirror. Though not a drop spilled, the polished surface seemed to drink it up.  He then touched the still smoldering end of the herb bundle to the tea colored pool of liquid and it erupted into a silvery blue flame. The candle itself seemed completely untouched by the heat, even as it blazed up when it was fanned with a handful of feathers.

Stanford thrust his hand into the wall of flames to extract the candle, then with the other hand he lifted the still flaming mirror and spun it so that the reflective side now faced down. The flames vanished completely when he did so, and it was set back down on the table one last time. Then, cautiously, he touched the wick of the candle to the back of the mirror. All of the smoke hovering around the ceiling seemed to coalesce back down in a stream into the candle, as though it were being sucked back up. Once the air was clear the tip of the candle popped into life with a small white flame.

“Ha! There we go! I suppose I should have called for silence first, good thing I got it, even if I forgot. Stunned silence works just as well as purposeful quiet. The ceremony has been completed!”

“Whatcha!” Mabel shouted, attempting to throw out a fireball of her own. Reflexively, Stanford winced, ducking slightly. The rest of the room had apparently joined him, as a sigh of relief was had by all when none of them burst into flames. “Hey, what gives?” She whined.

“Now, now, Mabel. It’s not quite that simple. As I said, the showy stuff takes time and practice. This is simply a device which will help bring out the energies that will allow for such learning to take place.” He tried his best to not sound relieved that she’d failed. “Now we can begin part two of the ceremony!”

“I want snacks!” Grenda bellowed.

“Yes, well, that actually sounds pretty good to me. This is stabilized for now and we’re bound to get hungry sooner or later and you girls seem to have gotten there yourselves already. So could you bring enough for all of us?”

“Sure thing, Grunk!” Mabel beamed as she, Candy and Grenda all skipped to the kitchen, followed by Stan.

“Now, what you see before you” He held the softly glowing candle out, illuminating Soos and Melody’s faces. “is a spectral candle, sometimes incorrectly referred to as a ghost light, although that’s an entirely separate phenomenon.” He cut himself off before he could go off on a tangent and paused to smile at the young couple. Soos smiled back instinctively before screeching loudly and kicking back, upturning the couch both he and Melody were sitting on.

“Oh no, doods, he’s back!”

“Now- now calm down there, big guy, I assure you- holy cripes!” Stanford ducked under a lamp hurled at his head. “Please, calm down!” A series of couch cushions ricocheted off of him. “Is it the eyes!? I promise you it’s not what you think!”

“Soos! Soos! Calm down!” Dipper and Wendy both stepped in, grabbing hold of an arm each. After they’d restrained him Pacifica too stood up to join in.

“Dipp-dood, it’s nuts! It’s Bill, dood, Bill’s got your unc-AAUUUGH!” The rotund man-child flailed, throwing Wendy and Dipper off of him. “He-he’s got you too, dood!”

Dipper’s face soured in confusion until he caught eyes with his great uncle, who had just lowered his hood. “Oh.” Ford’s own expression dropped.

“Yes, yes. Perhaps I should have explained the function of the object before simply brandishing it about. That’s my fault, I apologize. You see, the light of the candle reveals the touch of any otherworldly or occult beings that one may have been touched by. As you can see” He held the light closer to his face and the yellow glow from his eyes intensified. His pupils became slits and almost appeared wide and manic, even if the rest of his face didn’t reflect that. “I have been possessed by Bill cipher in the past. And I’ve encountered quite a few other …creatures, in my time.” He passed the candle for Dipper, whose eyes mirrored his own, to hold while he removed his coat, showing various scars and demonic seals all over his skin. “As you can see, Dipper shows heavy signs of having dealt with ghosts. The powder blue aura is a dead giveaway of that. The fingertips glowing a pale green show me that you’ve cast at least one spell in your time, and I’m also seeing an encounter with the undead… I see in the dark veining around his eyes that he’s also encountered a Gremloblin before, and- Dipper, have you been mauled by gnomes?”

“Uhh, we can talk about that later.”

“Yes, yes, of course. I also see on you, and you as well, Soos, that you’ve both encountered some sort of emotion powered construct. A manifestation of some sort.”

“Uhhhhh…?”

“Summerween Trickster, Soos. Candy golem.”

“Oh! Totally! Yeah, I ate that dood big time. I’ve still got some pieces, you want some?”

“Oh god no!”

“Wait, you  **ate** him?” Ford asked, incredulously.

“That’s another thing we can talk about later.” Dipper assured him.

“Alright, well, getting back to it. I can see more clearly the signs of another mark on you, Melody, yes?”

“Yeah, that’s me. But I try to stay away from all the weird, spooky stuff.”

“Well, be that as it may, I can see the markings quite clearly on you, and that informs me of what to look for on the boys, that the three of you have encountered some sort of elemental.” Dipper shrugged.

“The only adventure the three of us all went on was –Oh! Giffany!”

“Giffany? Who is that? A girlfriend of yours?” Pacifica almost came off as jealous when she stabbed the question at him.

“N-no! No. She was this…uh…”

“Actually, she was kinda like, my ex girlfriend?” Soos piped up. “Only she was more like how that Rumble McSkirmish dood was, a sorta being made up of electrical energy and computer data, if you will.”

“Okay, well that’s just weird.” She folded her arms and pouted, mildly irritated that the focus of the conversation hadn’t been her for far too long.

“I’m sorta fuzzy on a few of these myself.” Wendy chimed in, raising an eyebrow at Dipper and Soos. “You guys didn’t exactly invite me along on all of your adventures right from the get go. You and that Rumble guy have some sorta history?”

“Would you accept ‘I’ll explain later’?” Dipper pleaded, backing away from the somewhat disapproving gaze that he didn’t understand.

“Yes, yes, we can get into story telling later, the flame on this thing won’t last all nigh-okay well it will in fact last all night, but that’s not the point.” Ford corrected himself. “I’m sure each of us has a fascinating history of violence with otherworldly entities. I already know that you’ve encountered unicorns, my dear.” He took Wendy’s hand in his own and flipped it palm side down, showing a faint, rainbow trail streaked along her knuckles. “And there’s your proof. Quite a good punch from the looks of it too!” He clearly approved of equine fisticuffs in her particular circumstances. “Oh! And oh my, I’ve not seen a spectral signature quite as profound as yours in quite some time.” Taking the candle back from his grand nephew, Ford turned the candle to Pacifica, whose aura outshone Dipper’s significantly. “Are you sure you’re not a ghost? Because, well, that certainly wouldn’t entire preclude any relationship with the kids, but it could become problematic in time…” He trailed off as Pacifica’s grimace intensified.

“I am not a ghost! I’m Pacifica Northwest, I’ll have you know, and my ancestors used to own this whole stinking town! Hell, I used to own this whole stinking town when I was a kid!”

“Oh, that’d explain it, some sort of curse no doubt. Oh well, it doesn’t appear malignant so I suppose you’ve worked it out. Nevertheless, we should move on. As you well now know, the light from this particular artifact will illuminate whether you’ve been possessed by a demon, in the case of Dipper, my brother and myself, or if one has been cursed or haunted, etcetera. It also allows one to focus better on their own energies to draw them out. The occasional spell, such as those contained in the journals, can simply be recited from the page, but the vast majority of them aren’t so simple. Over the course of my research I’ve found that one can strengthen their own inner energies to repel outward forces. It’s entirely possible to shield oneself against maleficent magics, or even outright possession. Of course, had I the mastery of such skills at the time, the whole weirdmageddon mess could have been avoided. I regret that now, but what’s done is done, and moving forward we can easily prevent other such catastrophes in the future.”

Stanford wrangled his expression into a smile again at the prospects of hope for the future and heaved a sigh of relief.

“Now, if we can just-“

“-We’re baaaack!” Mabel called out as she hauled in two great armfuls of snacks, with her great uncle and best friends in tow. She set the treats down on a sofa that hadn’t been upturned by Soos and turned to the rest of her family, who’d apparently been stunned silent by the volume of snackage she’d brought back. “Why’s everyone looking at me like that? I got something in my teeth?”

“Oh god, Mabel.” Dipper barely managed. Stanford had dropped the candle. It tumbled end over end and bounced on the carpet, though the flame didn’t seem to interact with it at all. It settled at Mabel’s feet and she instinctively picked it up.

“Yo, Grunk, I think you dropped this.”

“Sweety….are you okay?” Stanley managed to ask, his hands shaking, even as he reached into a pocket for one of his brass knuckles, noting that his brother seemed to be slowly drawing towards his gun.

“Uhh, yeah, what’s up with you guys?” Even Candy and Grenda had sensed to back away from her and she was left standing alone in one corner of the room. Her shadow formed a long triangular shape behind her as though the light of the candle shone right through her body and the intense red aura that surrounded her. But truthfully it was her eyes that’d frightened the Pines family. It was expected of Ford and Stan, even Dipper, but no one had expected the yellow slitted eyes on Mabel. No one had any reason to.

“Why do you guys look so freaked out?” No one, including Mabel herself.


End file.
